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  • Title: [Unique structure of the esophago-gastric junction of the house musk shrew (Suncus murinus)].
    Author: Takeuchi K, Yoshioka M.
    Journal: Kaibogaku Zasshi; 2004 Dec; 79(4):121-9. PubMed ID: 15678992.
    Abstract:
    The house musk shrew (Suncus murinus) belongs to the Order Insectivora, and has been used for the research in comparative anatomy as one of the most primitive placental mammals. Another feature of this shrew is its ability to easily vomit which mimics the human emesis or motion sickness response. The house musk shrew has thus been utilized as a rare small experimental animal for studies on the neurophysiological mechanism of vomiting. However, there is no report investigating the morphological background of vomiting in this species. The purpose of this study is to provide detailed morphological and histological features of the house musk shrew stomach as they possibly correlate to vomiting. The stomachs of ten female house musk shrews were used. Six of them were the wild type (Jic: SUN), two were the high-emesis strain (Jic: SUN-Her) and the rest of them were the low-emesis strain (Jic: Sun-Ler). In addition to the macroscopic anatomy, the region of esophago-gastric (EG) junction and the gastric groove were observed using the light and transmission electron microscopy. Although evident differences in structure of stomach were not found among the three strains, some interesting findings in comparative anatomy were noted. The circular valve-like thick fold was seen at the cardiac portion, which protruded into the esophageal lumen forming a deep groove between its frilled edge and the esophagus. The second frilled ridge was often found as inner ridge of this valve-like thick fold. The esophago-gastric junction between the stratified squamous and the simple columnar epithelium was found at the edge of the second frilled ridge. The lamina propria of the frilled edge was occupied by loose connective tissue and many large lumens of lymphatic vessels. The lamina muscularis mucosae, which developed in the esophageal region, was not in the main frilled edge. A well-developed inner muscle layer was found around the base of the fold, which seemed to correspond to the human lower esophageal sphincter. Cardiac glands occupied most of the thick cardiac wall, forming complicated crypts lined by simple columnar epithelium, and ducts of cardiac gland opened to these crypts. Since the house musk shrew has no esophageal gland, these cardiac glands may actively protect the lower part of the esophagus. In the cardiac wall, the inner circular and outer longitudinal muscle layer largely crossed each other obliquely as same as other reports. The transition area from the striated to the smooth muscle was observed in the sphincter surrounding the distal end of the cardiac wall. The gastric groove, lined by simple columnar epithelium in the lesser curvature, which has been reported to play a role as a shortcut from the cardia to the pylorus in other species including rodents, was also confirmed in the house musk shrew. The mucosal fold in the boundary between the esophageal and the gastric epithelium of house musk shrew may correspond to the structure called the limiting ridge (in mouse, rat and hamster), the teeth-like fimbria or Grenzfalten (in vole), and the gastric teeth (in crustacean and mollusk). The valve-like mucosal fold protruding into the esophageal cavity, the well developed huge cardiac glands, and the cardiac sphincter localized distally to the cardiac gland appear to facilitate the regurgitation of the stomach content, that is, vomiting. These findings suggest that this structure might have developed to support the feeding habit of house musk shrew, and that the differences of strains in vomiting may be determined by neurophysiological mechanisms.
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